Of Reactions
by Nekoi Kurona
Summary: Drabble collections: One Piece is filled with mysteries and secrets... All ready to be found out in the random-est of ways!
1. Of Shanks's Arm

**Of Shanks' Arm**

Ace yawned as he stretched his arms out; flames coursed across his skin welcoming the warm sun. Fully awake, the prospect of a large breakfast got him running into the gallery. As he began pigging out on the food, though, his ears twitched at the sound of juicy small talk.

"That guy's a real monster."

"I know."

"Like seriously? He fought against Kaidou's men again and won."

"And with that small crew of his!"

"No, that's not all. I heard that the rumors about Shanks losing his arm were true…" Man A gasped at Man B.

"No fucking way."

"Yes, fucking way. The Kaidou Pirates are spreading the news everywhere."

"But how? How can he still be a pirate with only one arm? Heck, he's still one of the Yonkou and beats the others perfectly easy."

"I know right? He's a monster… Makes me wonder who took it…"

"His arm?"

"Yeah! Not even Mihawk could injure the guy and they fought for decades."

"That's true… I wonder who…?"

The two pirates pondered; the others who heard their conversation followed. Marco and Thatch walked in, wondering why it was so quiet and why Ace wasn't eating. Ace noticed the two and nodded to them. Thatch grinned, but tilted his heads at the others,

"What's with them?" Ace smirked,

"Ah, apparently, Shanks beat Kaidou's men again. They're wondering how he could have done it with one arm." Marco raised a brow,

"So the rumor's true?"

"Yup." Thatch widened his eyes,

"Seriously? So who took it?" Man A snapped out of his daze,

"It's an unknown myster—"

"Ah, about that… The question's actually not who, but what."

All whipped their heads around and gawked at Ace, who had interrupted the man.

"What do you mean by that?" Ace scratched the side of his head sheepishly,

"Shanks lost his arm to save my little brother's life. Sea king took it."

"…"

Wait 5 seconds… 4… 3… 2… 1…

"What?" (Except a hundred times louder)


	2. Of Sabo

**Of Sabo**

They were sailing away from Water 7.

Another great enemy has been beaten,

Their nakama were all happily together again,

And they were moving on to a new journey.

Luffy sat on the figurehead as always…

Always moving forward no matter what and enjoying the view of his ocean…

His freedom.

Robin looked at his calm figure and something compelled her to move towards him.

At the sound of her soft footsteps,

He looked back to see his archaeologist

And then gazed back at the ocean.

"Ne…"

His voice was so soft that she thought that it was just her imagination,

But he spoke a bit louder,

"Ne, Robin… Did you know? I had a brother just like you before…"

The statement piqued her interest and she stood closer to him,

"Really? How so?"

"Ha, the world _was_ his enemy too…"

She widened her eyes at the emphasis on the word.

The word didn't mean anything by itself, but changed everything.

But she didn't ask,

Instead she silently listened,

Listened to the story of three boys wanting freedom,

Becoming brothers,

Having fun together,

And one of them dying in his dream…

She cried silently at the solemn, soft tone that he used and the beauty of the story.

Luffy continued looking at the ocean,

The world that had taken his brother,

Before finally breaking the silence,

"I don't care if the world's your enemy…

Just don't leave us again,

Robin…"

She nodded and the two soaked in the warmth of each other's presence.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry, I just felt like the drabble would be better in this format.


	3. Of Ace's Tattoo

**Of Ace's Tattoo**

Marco couldn't believe it. No matter how many times he thought it over, he really couldn't. And he could see that the others on deck blanked out in disbelief and confusion as well. He decided that he should just end their suffering and ask for all of them,

"How the hell can you win that stupid spelling bee contest when you can't even spell your name right?"

Yes… That was right. They went into town this afternoon and there was a spelling bee contest. And Ace—that _Ace_—entered and easily won against the other smart-looking bespectacled people. And he didn't even know half the words that were said in the contest. How the hell did Ace win? Just look at his arm and you'd think that he was horrible at spelling. And he didn't seem all that smart either since just this morning he tried assassinating the man dubbed as the world's strongest man.

_So how the hell did Ace win?_

Ace blinked at the question,

"'Cuz I'm just smart like that…?" Marco rolled his eyes and motioned to his tattoo,

"Smart people don't spell their names wrong. Especially when it's only three letters." Ace softly gazed at his tattoo and fingered the crossed-out S gently,

"This one's intentional."

"Eh?" Ace looked up and stared into Marco's eyes,

"This is not a mistake." If Ace didn't have that serious, unwavering determination shining in his eyes, then Marco would have burst with laughter. No matter how much he thought about it; it looked like a mistake.

"Then what is it?" He could have sworn that for a second, there was a misty haze clouding Ace's eyes. Said man looked on the ground,

"A tribute…"

"Eh?"

"I have two brothers… We're not related by blood, but rather by oath. One of them died as he set out to be a pirate. He wanted to sail around the world… So that day, I promised that I'd take him."

Silence seeped into the ship as he spoke. Marco honestly didn't know what to say. After a while, Ace stated,

"It's not a mistake."


	4. Of Shanks's Arm 2

**Of Shanks Arm 2**

Rockstar was a newbie on the Red Force. After meeting the notoriously strong Yonkou, Red Hair Shanks, he gave up his position of pirate captain to become part of something even greater.

And after a few fights, he couldn't help but notice how small his world had been before. How arrogant he was despite being so weak.

After fighting with his new nakama, he felt as if he was the ignorant, small chick that had just been introduced to the new world. They were amazingly strong, precise, smart, and bad-ass.

Though, they did have their moments…

Most of the time, they would be partying and drinking themselves dumb and into day-long hangovers…

The world's dangerous hangovers, he soon learned. Shanks was abnormally grumpy as he recovers from his drinking binges.

And as time went by, he couldn't help, but always stare at the meaty stump where Shanks's left arm used to be.

How could one so great lose his arm?

After all, although he was forever handicapped, Shanks was the strongest person in the world that he knew.

In his opinion, he might even be stronger than Whitebeard or the Marine Hero Garp.

And through the frequent meetings with Mihawk, he learned that it wasn't Hawk-eyes that claimed his arm.

So who did?

What sort of man could have injured his honorable captain?

Curiosity filled his being, but Rockstar couldn't ask the person himself…

Maybe it was too personal? Or shameful?

So he was surprised when Shanks noticed him staring at the wound and grinned,

"Oi, you want to know the story behind this wound?"

He couldn't deny his curiosity so he nodded, waiting for the story.

And though Shanks wasn't as great a story-teller as Yasopp, he found himself immersed in the world of ten years ago.

The world where Shanks met a little boy, who he said was just like him when he was a brat…

How he lost his arm by a Sea King and gave his straw hat to the boy…

As Rockstar listened, he could tell how proud Shanks was of the kid.

If he hadn't known better, then he would have thought that the kid was his son or love-child…

And Shanks was damn proud of the kid.

No traces of remorse showed in his bright eyes…

No regret for losing his arm or trademark hat shown as his captain described him.

And if captain was proud of him, then he was too.

Rockstar couldn't help, but get excited at the thought of meeting the boy too…

The new generation that his captain betted on.

The pirate king that will shake the world…

Monkey D. Luffy.

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I'm obsessed with Shanks's arm... But I promise that this will be the last one! ...Maybe...


	5. Of Sandai Kitetsu

**Of Sandai Kitetsu**

He couldn't believe it.

Really, he couldn't.

His little brother was following the words of a human. _A human._

He seriously couldn't believe it.

And when he clashed with his little brother, he could feel the respect he had towards his master.

They were probably close and been with each other for a long time…

Which was weird because his rebellious brother normally killed them within the day.

Not that he was much better… But still.

_His little brother_ was following the words of a _human._

The world must be ending.

As he clashed with his brother, he could sense their closeness.

His brother obeyed every command and swiftly cut down the enemy.

And his master deftly wielded his brother to his upmost potential… Along with two others too.

As he fought them, he watched them more and more. And he began to notice:

They weren't like master and sword…

More like partners. Close partners bonded through fights and gained through respect.

And he felt happy for his little brother.

For Sandai Kitetsu.

He had a good partner. Together, they were strong and might really become the best swordsman in the world…

Speaking of which, it was about time for him to kill his own swordsman.

Though he was moved by his little brother and swordsman, in the end, he couldn't bring himself to listening to a human.

And being the oldest, he did have a reputation to keep up.


	6. Of Ace's Hat

**Of Ace's Hat**

It was weird… Very weird…

Ace sat in his little dinghy, staring at a hat drift aimlessly across the ocean. For some strange reason, he couldn't take his gaze off the thing. As if there was a magnetic pull attracting him to the hat… Absent-mindedly, he tenderly picked it up as it floated over to him.

And gently, he fingered the soft felt. Somehow, the hat seemed familiar… Like he was supposed to have it. Like it was made to be his.

Bright orange in color like the warm flames in the fireplace that heated him and his brothers in the coldest of winters. It had a heart-warming appeal to him. Soft and gentle…

But nice as the color was, that wasn't what caught his attention.

It was the red beads and blue smileys attached to it that did. He had a foreboding feeling about them. As if they were going to play some important part in his future. Bad or good; he really couldn't tell.

It was just that it gave him some weird feeling inside.

The beads had the perfect shade of crimson blood. They gave off a dark, ominous feeling that reminded him of death…

But the blue smileys soothed his soul. They were blue like the ocean which he loved. A calm blue like the day where he and Luffy made promises to be free and never regret anything in life.

And the smileys seemed comical yet deep at the same time. The right one frowned sadly like a person who suffered through the ages… The left one, however, smiled widely like Luffy, happy and loving the world for what it is.

Ace stared at it for a long while before putting it on his head. Oddly enough, it seemed to fit him perfectly.

He, soon, took his mind off the hat and began to row to the next island.

Today, he became a pirate. He shouldn't be thinking about such things when he had a world of things to do.

He smiled. Soon, he would rock the world and become a hell of a pirate.

...

...

...

...

He was dying. He knew it. He could feel his energy leaving him.

The heat too. It was getting colder and colder like winter. Except that there was no fire. No bright orange fire to keep him warm…

Ara? He felt that something was supposed to happen. There was a thought gnawing on the back of his mind. Then, a cold wind tousled his hair and he remembered.

His hat… He must have dropped it on that island. So many things had happened recently that he forgot about it...

Which was weird since he shouldn't have forgot about it no matter what. After the long time he wore it, it's been his treasure- just like how the top hat was Sabo's treasure and the straw hat was Luffy's... It was like a part of him that he should never let go... And it felt like that ever since the start-

The image of the time when he first met the hat vividly appeared in his mind. Somehow, he clearly remembered his first impression:

_The foreboding feeling within him when he first saw it floating across the ocean…_

As he saw his blood profusely spilling out of him:

_The red, blood-like beads reminding him of death…_

And as he began saying his last words to his nakama and Luffy...

_The two smileys… One which frowned sadly like a person who suffered through the ages..._

In the beginning of the war and now, he was frowning like the first smiley. No matter what he said, he really didn't want to die. Die while his friends-his family-were still fighting. And it would be a lie to say that he didn't feel the excruciating pain of molten lava burning down his internal organs. Add the guilt from ruining his best little brother's rescue plan that flooded his conscience and he felt just down-right horrible.

Then, there was also that question bugging him even now. _Did he deserve to live?_ Many people right now were cursing his existence and fighting to kill him, 'the main source of evil'.

…But as he looked at his caring family—all not blood-related, but family nonetheless—he realized how stupid he was all this time. He had people right next to him that didn't deny him that fact, but instead, fought for that fact.

He deserved to live. Everyone did.

And now, he really didn't want to die yet… But he knew he was going to.

Nothing could save him… So he'll save them.

_Two smileys... One which frowned sadly like a person who suffered through the ages..._

_And one which smiled like the happiest person in the world, accepting the bad times and enjoying the good times of life to the fullest. Its smile infected those who watched and eased their sadness while bathe them in bright happiness._

It really was like fate… Picking up a hat like that in the middle of the ocean on the first day of his pirate career… Slowly, he stretched his frown into a wide grin.

Smiles comforted people. Luffy taught him that. _They_ taught him that.

He smiled gently like the smiley on that hat fell to the ground, hoping that he got the message across to the whole field.

_Thanks Luffy, Pops, everyone… for loving me so much…_

_I love you guys too…_

* * *

><p>AN: I was rereading One Piece and realized that in the scene where Ace died, there were these two panels next to each other that looked like the smileys on his hat. The right panel (which is always read first in manga) had Ace frowning just like how the right smiley on his hat was frowning. And the left panel directly after it had Ace smiling just like the left smiley... I always thought that Ace just had a hat because his other two brothers had one, but now I wonder if there is a deeper meaning.


	7. Of Devil Fruits

**Of Devil Fruits**

She was a pacifist… A purifier… A peaceful being…

It was her duty to wash away the bad things in life…

And that she did.

She washed away death when people drank her blood, drowned away drought, brought passion to those in despair, and many more…

In some countries, she was even hailed as a Goddess. With her cleansing qualities, she blessed those who were pure and washed out any impurities of those who weren't… Like curses, for example.

Honestly, she knew that curses weren't all bad. And it's not like she hated them…

She just… washed them away.

And some curses were like parasites. They just bonded to the soul and refused to separate until death.

Like those fruits of the devil.

So when those cursed fall into her domain and she purified them like she always did.

It was her duty to wash away the bad things in life…

But as she did, she washed away the essence of their life. Those curses just wouldn't separate. Just stubbornly bonded to the soul.

And as the doom-bringer of those with that kind of curse, she thought that she should harbor their souls and take care of them.

It was the least she could do. She took away their lives and let them peacefully sleep in her presence.

And she continued with life.

She was the ocean.

It was her duty to wash away the bad things in life…

And that she did.

* * *

><p>AN: Might not update for a long time... School is getting pretty demanding (-_-")


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